Enterprise is renowned for its inclusivity and diversity within the workplace. This is one of the main values that initially drew me towards the company . I am a true believer that when you feel supported and accepted within the workplace, you yourself will be committed to success for yourself and your peers. This is one thing that Enterprise promises to deliver and fulfills this promise on a daily basis, without question. One of my career highlights was when I was personally asked to compose a personal blog for Enterprise careers about my experience and career so far. The pride I feel to be recommended for this blog was unmatched to the feeling of pride I recieved when others reached out to me about their own experiences. The conversation is always open and I believe this will only allow others to feel comfortable and accepted within the Enterprise family.

"Our Doors are Always Open" is one of Enterprise Rent-A-Car's founding values - and it could not be more true. I left University and didn't know where life was going to take me - I definitely did not think doing 3 years at University studying comedy would leave me renting cars - but Enterprise isn't just about renting cars and that's the beauty of it.

Before applying to any company, I always did my research. I wouldn't apply to a company if it didn't have at least one thing about diversity. It's difficult being part of the LGBTQ+ community and always wondering whether you will feel accepted in your next role. Enterprise has LOTS online about all its inclusion and diversity policies so it only seemed right to apply.

I was blown away at how much this company actually does for it's employees - LGBTQ+ or not. Enterprise allowed me to be my true self in work, which was always the most important thing for me. Allowing me to be my true self has allowed me to shine - which is why I have over achieved (and been rewarded for it) in several aspects of the business.

I am currently head of the LGBTQ+ committee, otherwise known as U3 Enterpride. It is my responsibility to educate and celebrate 750+ employees in the Northwest UK - and I feel extreme pride about that every single day.

The possibilities are endless and this amazing company gives you the time, space and freedom to express your views, be passionate about something and share it with internal and external networks.

As someone who has worked for Enterprise for more than 20 years in the UK, I can safely say that the egalitarian values the company held at the time of joining have always stayed strong and true. I have also witnessed the evolution of a global organization that whilst staying in touch with its family owned routes has also been able to move with the times and be a trail blazer both within the Automotive industry and the Motor Insurance world, during a period of rapid growth.

I came out to my colleagues quite by accident in the summer of 2000, and was met with support and understanding, which came as a very welcome surprise at the time. This taught me that it's always better to bring your whole self to work early on - I think it's so common even today for recent graduates to feel they need to go back in the closet when making their first inroads to the world of work. Particularly over the last decade Enterprise has made huge steps forward to support diversity and inclusion in the workplace and to reflect the customers we serve and the employees we rely upon. Today you will find a visible LGBTQ+ network called EnterPRIDE that goes from strength to strength!

My role within the EnterPRIDE network has been to steward the London and South-East region. Within this capacity our aim is to remain visible throughout the year and we do make a special song and a dance around Pride season! We have supported Brighton Pride and Pride in London for many years now, both of which have become firm favourites in the summer calendar! On the same year we marked 50 years since Stonewall I also celebrated my own 40th birthday along the route of the London parade - it was a great party! :) It felt very special to be supported along my journey by my employer and many of my colleagues, and I still feel touched that I got the chance to experience this.

Here's to the next 20 years at Enterprise!

Having worked for Enterprise for 22 years straight out of university, I can honestly say that I have been afforded more opportunities and had more experiences than I ever thought possible. Here is a brief synopsis of my career so far:

When I graduated from University in 1999 with a Marketing degree, I didn’t know exactly where I wanted to go from there, but I knew I liked sales and I knew I liked working with people. I saw an advertisement in the local newspaper (this is how long ago it was!) to go and work for Enterprise as a Management Trainee in America for 18 months and then return to Scotland to continue my career.

I thought the opportunity sounded amazing, so I applied and was fortunate enough to get the job. I started as a Management Trainee in Kansas City, Missouri and after a year or so was promoted to Management Assistant and soon after Assistant Manager. I was quickly promoted to Branch Manager and couldn’t believe after only 2 years I was managing a team of 6 or 7 people and a fleet of over 100 cars.

After a couple of years, I moved back to Scotland and moved around many different branch locations to gain experience of a variety of different business areas. Soon after I moved to manage the Aberdeen branch, I was promoted to Area manager. After only 5 years with the company, I was responsible for a fleet of 800 cars, a team of 50 people, and I was negotiating leases on new properties to help our expansion. After managing 2 areas over 7 years, I took the opportunity to become the Group Risk Manager where I was responsible for minimising the company losses associated with our assets and overall business activities.

I was promoted to Group Sales Director for Scotland, after 2 years of being a Group Risk Manager. My sales team and I secured many large customers both from the public and private sector and we were really proud to have finished as the number one sales team worldwide in 2017 because of the growth we had achieved.

The key thing I love about Enterprise is that hard work and performance are always recognised and sure enough soon after this achievement in 2018 I was promoted to Assistant Vice President of Business Rental, first for France, Germany and Spain, and now for the UK and Ireland. In my role I am responsible for working with our sales teams and unlocking the maximum growth potential in each market. I am so fortunate to work with the most talented and professional sales people in the industry and of course one of the perks of the job is that I get to travel to these countries most weeks!!

From an LGBT perspective, I came out as gay quite late (30) both in my personal and professional life and, as I am sure most people who go through this experience feel, I wish I had done it much sooner as every aspect of my life improved. From a work point of view, I can almost point to the day when I started to excel in what I was doing because I no longer had to miss important parts of my life out, like what I was doing at the weekend or who I was going on holiday with – it was a massive relief!

I can honestly say being out at Enterprise has been a massively positive experience. Every single person was so supportive in the early days and my husband Gordon is part of the Enterprise family. We have a really robust mentoring programme across the business and there are many visibly role models who each have a very open door policy.

Please feel free to contact me if I can answer any questions you may have about joining Enterprise.

Enterprise is a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation; a place where you can be your true self at work.

As an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, I am proud to work for a company that truly embraces diversity to its core. DE&I is interwoven through all walks of life at Enterprise. We do not just pay homage to it at certain times of the year. For example, any employee within the business is able to join one of our diversity committees which are aligned to a specific strand.

We have seen countless times when employees have taken up awareness campaigns, or fundraising on their own merit. This is underpinned by strong visible role models representing LGBTQ+ communities too.

At Enterprise, one of our founding values is "Our Doors Are Open" and as a member of the talent acquisition team, feel this is a message we are proud to embrace with every candidate that meets us on campus, browses our career site, and chooses to apply.

I'm so proud to work for Enterprise. One of our values in 'our doors are open' and this represents creating a work environment that is welcoming to all. We truly live these values daily and prioritising DE&I is interwoven through the fabric of our culture.

I'm a proud active ally of the LGBTQ+ community and look forward to hiring talent that feels they can be their true authentic self at work.